


She Sleeps

by art_deco_deity



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-18
Updated: 2019-02-18
Packaged: 2019-10-31 01:37:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17839934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/art_deco_deity/pseuds/art_deco_deity
Summary: In which the princess with goddess blood takes a well deserved nap, and the champion with a hero's destiny needs to touch her just to feel okay.Post-Botw, set right after Calamity Gannon's defeat.





	She Sleeps

Link never considered himself to be needy. Never considered himself to be anything really; besides hopelessly attached to the girl before him, of course. But as he found himself tracing the lines of her upturned palm, reveling in the sound of her deep breathing, and trying to restrain from joining her on the bed, he found very soon that he was indeed needy.

He felt guilty for even thinking of himself, but he needed to see her awake. He needed to see her move to assure himself she was alive. He needed to feel her corporeal touch on his skin; if only just to convince himself she wasn't turning sea-glass colored and fading away from him like the champions.

His eyes were burning, tired beyond belief, and fighting against a brain that refused to rest. Link didn't remember much; but watching over Zelda as she slept was instinct. He'd found himself doing it because if felt natural; regardless of how tired he was.

He retracted his fingers from where they were tracing figures into her palm, tucking his hands back in his lap. He didn't want his own need of physical sensation to disturb her slumber. Link didn't know if he could forgive himself if he awoke her from her well-deserved rest. After all, she spent the last century in constant battle with the greatest evil they'd ever known; all he did was wake up in a shrine six months ago, and travel until he could help her finish the job.

He finished the job only six hours ago, but the last six hours had felt like lifetimes. The strangest part about it all, was that he really didn't remember all that much about Gannon's end. All he could remember was when she appeared to him again, and anything not in Link's peripheral vision when looking at her was lost to him. She was a visual magnet. He felt physically incapable of letting her out of his sight. It felt wrong; like betrayal almost. Maybe it was the guilt of dying on her in the first place, or of wasting 100 years, but he needed to keep her safe now.

His chest ached, his arm burned, and his ankle screamed when he put any weight on it. The adrenaline had kept it relatively painless for him when surrounded by Hyrule Castle's countless dangers, but he was resting in a quiet stable right now. The only distraction from the pain was Zelda's -thankfully- rhythmic breathing, and even though it was a great comfort, it wasn't a painkiller.

Link supposed he should grab the sheika slate currently strapped to his hip and scroll through it for an item with healing effects. He also supposed maybe he should change from his guardian-singed armour into something less charred. But that would require his attention be elsewhere other than the currently sleeping princess, and he couldn't have that. After everything she sacrificed, Link figured he could deal with a bit of discomfort.

Lost in his thoughts, he found himself grabbing her hand again. It was cold to the touch and covered in a light layer of ash. He wanted to clean the offending dust off her hands, wanted to scrub every last bit of Gannon's presence off of her. The deplorable beast didn't deserve to stain someone as frankly...divine as her, Link thought, but then again neither did he.

Zelda gave a sleepy sigh, and rolled from her back onto her side towards him. She was facing him in full now, and he could finally commit an expression of her's other than sorrow into his memory. Her face was serene, eyebrows relieved of tension, mouth curled very faintly upward into the tiniest of smiles as she breathed in and out.

Link felt a fond smile forming, and alone in this stable's back room, he let himself break composure. He was her ever-so-stoic appointed knight when Gannon was still wrecking havoc, but Gannon was gone now; here in this quiet room Link was just a boy. A wildly grinning boy, absolutely giddy with how much he couldn't believe his own luck.

That morning, as Link set off to finally vanquish Calamity Gannon, he had no doubt in his mind the princess would be saved. He pledged his life, his soul, his very being to her as a boy, and as an amnesiac that potent feeling persisted. He knew nothing but his unbridled devotion to her, and he let that resolute truth carry him in his journey. He would save her; but he had no expectations of living to see the aftermath. Link figured he would be killed in his fight against Calamity Gannon, but hoped with everything he had that his death would be enough of a distraction for Gannon. Maybe then she'd be able to take the opening and end his reign of terror. 

Link left that morning already resigned to the idea that his life would end in Hyrule Castle that day. He decided that saving her was worth it; she was the only thing that made sense to him.

Link felt the soft skin of her hand beneath his, and thanked every god, goddess, and unrelated deity he knew of that they let him survive long enough to experience this.

Zelda collapsed immediately after finally defeating the great evil; her body hitting the ground before Link could catch her, the very sound a catalyst for a new bout of anxiety for him. He vaguely remembered sprinting over to her body, praying that it wasn't lifeless. When he reached her, he tucked two of his own calloused fingers under her chin, finding a pulse. and breathing a boundless sigh of relief. With shaking, adrenaline fueled arms, Link scooped her up and assessed his surroundings. The ruins of castle town stood tall around him; just as cold, dull, and desolate as they were before Calamity's defeat. He heard metallic clicking, and the whirring of a guardian behind him. His heart lept in his chest.

He laid Zelda down gently, and stood over her like the protector he knew he should've been over 100 years ago. Link knew in the back of his mind that this encounter might be it for him. The crest on the guardian's head signified it as a high-level scout, and the three arms holding glowing blades signified it as Link's grave. He could feel the exhaustion settling in his bones. He was teetering on the very brink of a black out. Link instead took a breath, determined and resolute in his quest to defeat the scout before him; no matter the cost. His life was unimportant, Zelda had to be saved. All of Hyrule would thank him.

Link grabbed the master sword from his back, brandishing it gravely. He charged forward with the last of his strength, driving the sword straight into it's metallic, glowing blue eye. The machine stuttered, jumping back, as electricity visibly flowed through the now opened hull of the machine. Link braced himself on the ground, on hand on his knee. His breath was short and labored, he could feel the beginning of his own end. He tried with everything he had to get up, but found getting to his feet impossible. The guardian had recovered and was now approaching fast, it's legs becoming arachnid-like appendages sealing the distance between Link and his death. It reached him in seconds, looming tall and mechanical over Link, aiming a bright red laser into his temple. Before he knew it, Link heard the signature ding of an incoming laser barrage and huddled behind his shield. He looked over at the princess, mentally apologizing to her unconscious form for this second death.

Only, the laser never came.

Link peered over the edge of his ancient shield cautiously, seeing the guardian still very much standing dangerously close. The blue of it's torn eye was fading, and the Calamity's red hue encircling it was falling away. The electrical whirring started again, but this time sending electric sparks into every direction. The guardian shook like it was possessed for a brief moment, before giving a final shutter. With that, it was done. With that, Link was allowed to live.

Link, not one to waste a good opportunity, saw his chance clearly. The guardians were lifeless, having been released of Gannon's influence. But the bokoblins, lizalfoes, and moblins waiting in the fields just beyond Castle town were still very much alive. He had to move, and find a way to move Zelda. Quick.

Trying to stand and failing, Link popped a stamina potion from the bag strapped to his back. It gave him an immediate energy boost, but he knew it wouldn't last long. Thinking quickly, Link grabbed the claymore tucked behind the master sword currently slung across his back. He limped over to Zelda's collapsed body a few feet away, and slid the claymore beneath her like a makeshift stretcher. The limp way her body responded to his pushing and prodding made him sick, but Link pushed the frightening thoughts down. They certainly weren't helping the situation.

Link took a few tired steps back, before taking the sheika slate back up and selecting the magnesis rune. The claymore under Zelda's body glowed yellow within the slate's interface as he sent a magnetic beam towards it. He wanted to scream with joy as he saw his plan come to fruition; the sword was lifted with the rune's power, and Zelda by default because of her position on top of it. Thus began the slow walk back to Link's horse waiting just beyond the remains of Castle Town. Link found he couldn't remember putting Zelda on his horse, or riding to the Riverside Stable. But he supposed it didn't matter much, as they had arrived in one piece.

There was a large of part of him that wished she'd wake up soon; she was sleeping so deeply it almost seemed to him that she'd be out for another hundred years. The thought alone made his blood freeze. But the other part of him dreaded when she'd finally awaken. What if she was mad at him? Or even worse, disappointed? It took him over 100 years to come back and help her. Anyone would be angry to have to wait that long.

His anxiety got the better of him, and he took solace in the blonde locks currently splayed around her head like a halo. Her hair was soft, and felt almost velvety to the touch. Link twirled a strand between his fingers, trying to calm himself down.

Zelda was here, he tried to reassure himself. She wasn't going to fade away. She was alive. They had made it.

The upturned palm he had been tracing patterns into before was closed up now into a fist. Zelda must've been having a dream, because it was clenched now; going white from the pressure. Before he knew it, Link found himself grabbing her fist, and gently pulling her fingers away from each other. She resisted a bit at first, before instead clasping his hand in hers.

She still wasn't awake, and he still wished to hear her voice more than anything, but the pressure of her hand in his was enough. In her sleep, she'd squeeze every now and again, eliciting a rare, soft smile from her knight.

Try as he might to resist it, Link found his eyes drooping. His head fell forward onto the mattress he was sitting in front of, his hand still locked in Zelda's. He told himself 'just a few minutes' but even in the very back of his mind knew that was a lie.

—-  
The hylian pair slept for two straight days. Many people came and went from the stable but they all seemed to notice the two passed out on the back bed.

Link had drifted to the floor somehow, covered with a blanket, and laying on a pillow the stable's owners had slid under his head while he slept. Zelda had drifted to the very edge of the bed, one arm dangling over it. Her outstretched arm met one of his own, and they kept their hands connected for the entire duration of their sleep. Their general postures looked very similar with the way they both seemed to curl up around where their hands met.

To most travelers passing through, it was idly cute. But the stable's owner's knew of Link's real identity, along with the princesses's own. That's why they would shoo people out who made too much noise, or tried to disturb the pair of them.

The stable was a good place for them to take their much needed rest. Aside from the odd traveller here and there, all was quiet and calm. The atmosphere was warm; everything baked in the soft yellow of the shining sun during the day.

When Zelda first woke up, she had what felt like a major heart attack. She sat up, throwing her head around wildly. Zelda awoke completely disoriented. She was desperately trying to decipher where exactly she was. Her anxiety only increased as the worst thought came to mind: Did she finally lose her battle? Was this heaven?

She couldn't remember defeating Calamity Gannon. What other explanation could there be?

A slight pressure on her left hand drew her attention to the person still sound asleep on the floor. Her breath caught. Link looked just the same as she remembered him; serious, even in sleep, but boyish and kind if you really looked.

With shaking legs, Zelda slid off the bed and stood up. It was a little awkward seeing as Link refused to release his grip on her hand, but she managed just the same. She walked around his sleeping form on the floor, until she reached his head.

His bangs had fallen into his eyes, being disturbed slightly by his soft breathing as he slept. It was a familiar sight to Zelda, but one she'd never thought she'd see again. She sat down, falling gracefully to her knees; just a few inches away from where he slept.  
—-

Link could feel an entire planet's worth of gravity in his bones that morning; it was especially apparent the second he began to wake up. Even opening his eyes seemed like an astronomical task, so he mentally excused the irritated groan he accidentally emitted when he did so. He blinked blearily, sitting up much to the dismay of his sore muscles. The bright rays of early morning sunlight flooded his vision and he groaned again. Link felt that even the sun was fighting him, and as a result the battle-weary champion threw his head back into the pillow with a tired sigh.

As Link's head hit the pillow, he heard a soft giggle just behind his head.

She appeared like an angel when he finally opened his eyes; all silhouetted yellow light, soft smiles, and slowly falling tears. Zelda leaned over him, backdropped by the rising sun, dripping in gold and fresh air.

"Princess...." Link uttered the word like a prayer, bringing a hand up to catch the tears falling from her eyes.

She broke into a watery smile. All white teeth and tears, and bittersweet sadness lurking in her expression. "It's Zelda, to you. Or have you forgotten, hero?" She phrased the question like a gentle reprimand, but he could see the anxiety and doubt behind it.

"I-I remember." His voice was rough; quiet from months without use, but laced with sincerity. "Not.. all. But enough."

A shuddering breath passed through her. It looked like a shiver, but the way a strangled sob seemed to escape showed it was something more. Zelda dropped her forehead to his as she cried. Bringing both her hands to the sides of his head, she laced her fingers into his hair. He could feel her tears, thick and unrelenting against his skin.

His heart broke. Link could understand the tears, but somewhere in the back of his mind he hoped for happiness. In his best dream of this reunion, they escaped all the angst and the 100 years and their forever intertwined fates. It was just them, together again; with the Calamity in rearview, and nothing but relief and rest on the horizon. In his worst dreams- which more often then not are his reality- this reunion was nothing but a reminder of all that was lost. It looked much the like the scene now; all heartache, mourning, and cacophonous cries.

Link cradled Zelda as he slowly sat up. His hands around her sides, guiding her head to rest on his shoulder. She clutched at him like he was her only truth, fingers digging into the charred fabric of his blue tunic. Her open-mouthed sobs had subsided in favor of silent tears, and Link couldn't figure out which was worse.

"I was stuck.." Her voice caught again; failing to crest over the mountain of tears cascading. "For so long. I-I didn't know if you'd wake up."

Guilt shot through him, knocking the air out of his body. Link felt helpless; it was his worst nightmare that their reunion would be marred by her anger. He knew his absence had been extended. Link didn't mean for it to be that long, but he only had one life and one shot at Gannon. He had to become strong enough to save her. Nothing else mattered.

"I know." He whispered into her hair. Link's usual solid-as-steel facade was crumbling quickly as a result of her turmoil. Tears of his own mirrored hers in their descent. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't apologize for Calamity Gannon." Zelda's voice gained incredible conviction despite how she had to speak through tears.

They just held each other and cried for the majority of that morning. They cried for all that was lost and all the time wasted. Link cried for Mipha, and all the things that he couldn't remember about her. Link cried for Daruk, and how the only time he'll ever see his friendly smile again is in the rock face outside of Goron City. He cried for Revali; Link had never in his life wanted to hear the rito's voice tease him for being 'inferior' and 'less than' more than he did now. 

Zelda had cherished all of her champions endlessly, but she cried for Urbosa above it all. Her first mother had been taken from her, and now it was all coming back to her that her chosen mother was gone too. Urbosa was in every part of her little bird's being and as a result every part of Zelda ached with her loss. A limb had been cut from her, and Zelda was nothing like the salamanders she so loved to study; the limb would never reform, so she cried even more.

Link and Zelda grasped at each other like the other was their lone lifeline. Brackish waters of a 100 year hurricane tried to pull them apart; but they held on. Even against the tumultuous wave after wave of sorrow and the century's worth of pain crashed over them in those first few moments. 

Amidst his own sobbing, Link choked back a cry and asked: "This.. is real, right? Not just a memory? It.. gets so jumbled up sometimes. Hard to tell."

Zelda met his eyes, hands coming up to cup each of his cheeks. "This is real, Link. It has to be."

The princess and her knight had suffered for so long, and it would never be like it was. Link and Zelda had lost so much, and would forever mourn all their destiny had collectively stolen from them. But as the morning sun relinquished it's soft glow in favor of blinding light, the afternoon arrived and their tears finally began slowing.

It wasn't ok. It probably never would be; but their arms around each other were enough, and they breathed in tandem with the ruins surrounding them waiting to be rebuilt.

**Author's Note:**

> anyway, i finished breath of the wild yesterday and since then i have had just way too many feelings about it; and as the biggest angst slut i've ever met, i wrote every sad and torturous one down and here they are. hope u enjoyed!


End file.
